No comments about The Portfolio and the Diagram: Architecture, Discourse, and Modernity in America.

No comments about The Russian House: Architecture & Interiors.

1 comments about Country Houses of Sweden.

1. This is a beautifully presented publication. Its padded hard cover and thick paper quality are matched by excellent colour photographs.

   The choices of homes is good: from palaces to simple country cottages. The text for each home is limited because of space for translation into French and German, but its gives a personal background to each building and interior.

   It has none of the frilly interiors or silly text that often accompanies the English versions of Scandinavian interior books.

   It is an excellent companion to The Swedish Room, which gives a more comprehensive historical perspective.

4 comments about The Empire State Building (Architecture).

1. The sixty-five photographs in this book are probably the best of the thousand Lewis Hine took during the construction of the Empire State Building. Several are now the standard image used to depict industrial output during the Depression and rightly so. Hine concentrates on the workers rather than the actual building and you can see just how precarious some of their activity is. Years before hardhats and workman's comp hundreds of seasoned craftsmen managed to erect a building nearly a quarter of a mile high in 410 days and weighing 365,000 tons.

   Author Freddy Langer writes an interesting short essay about Lewis Hine explaining how he became interested in using photography to expose the exploitation of child labor during the early years of the last century. These photos were used in his book 'Kids at Work' (ISBN 0395797268). His interest in photographing the workplace got him the commission to record the building of the Empire State and some of these images also appeared in his 1932 book 'Men at Work' (ISBN 0486234754).

   It is a shame that the book does not give more explanation to what the craftsmen are doing in the photos. A book that does have photos (though not by Hine) and detailed captions is 'Building the Empire State' (ISBN 0393730301) edited by Carol White, it reproduces seventy-seven pages of typewritten description, some of it quite technical, that someone at Starrett Brothers, the builders, produced as a record of the construction.

   The Empire State was in competition with the Chrysler Building and a book by David Stravitz, 'The Chrysler Building' (ISBN 1568983549) is a week-by-week photographic construction record of Van Allen's Art Deco masterpiece with detailed captions to the pictures. Strangely many of Hine's photos clearly show the Chrysler Building in the background.

   All three books celebrate the building of two stunning New York skyscrapers.




2. This book is wonderful. The pictures bring back a time in our country's history that was hopeful and expansive - a nice antidote to today's closed attitudes. Anyone with an interest in American history and the story of one our momumental achievements should have this book. P.S. Children love this book too -- my two sons take it off the shelf almost every night!



3. I like architecture. I like buildings. And I adore The Empire State building in New York City. (as if I need to mention location) This is an informative book by Mr. Doherty and others giving us a detailed view into dreams coming to life of the then tallest building in the world. How it was built, human drama behind the scenes, how fast it went up---4 stories a week, the limestone that was only brought in from Indiana, and other fascinating information.

   With a glossary, index, photo's of helmeted men in 1930---daringly straddling beams above a floor of cement doom, one can relive visiting this icon or enjoy true anticipation of using one of its 73 elevators to reach for the heavens on an open aired viewing floor where everything from weddings to arm wrestling competitions take place.

   Did you know they began using outdoor lights due to an aircraft bomber, lost in the fog and crashing into her 79th floor back in the 40's? And now, one can see it adorned with special lit colors--Blue was done as a tribute to Frank Sinatra, Blue & White for Churchill, and Gold for the Pope.

   Yes, the building that may now not be the tallest, will forever hold a special place in our hearts. As seen in many movies, from King Kong to Sleepless In Seattle, we can step back and wonder who is behind those 6,000 windows ( you might spot Donald Trump, he owns part of her now ) and wistfully sigh at the romance of it all.

   other reading suggestions: "The Majesty of the French Quarter" by Kerri McCaffety

   --CDS--




4. Pictures that are not well known, but warm the heart

No comments about Moravian Architecture and Town Planning: Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, and Other Eighteenth-Century American Settlements (Pennsylvania Paperbacks).

2 comments about Scotland's Lost Houses.

1. This is a very well produced book on Scotlands great lost estates. The text is highly informative and the images are fanstastic. It is so disgraceful that so many of these great houses were so underappreciated, they were torn down like dilapidated public housing: it's tragic. The great Robert Adam house Bardelie was the worst lose, how anyone could tear down this masterpiece is unfathonable. The book is a joy to peruse, but you can't help but have a touch of meloncholy for the ease at which the philitines pulled so many of these great houses down. Be assured, you'll never see the likes of these houses again.



2. As a fan of Scottish country houses I found this book to be very interesting reading. There are many particularly fine photographs detailing the history of these fine buildings which unfortunately became victims of changing times.

2 comments about Celebrating the American Home: 50 Great Houses from 50 American Architects.

1. The publisher of this book, The Taunton Press, has published a series of outstanding book on homes in America. Unlike many publishers, they have not concentrated on the giant mansions that few of us can afford. This book is a compilation of houses selected from about ten years of hous books. It features fifty homes, perhaps ten percent of the homes featured in all of their books, that have been selected by a panel of distinguished residential architects using a number of criteria based on both attractive design and things like livability.
   
   I'm thinking of building a new house. I live alone, kids are gone, I don't like house cleaning so want a small easy maintenance house. That's not to say that some distinctive architecture would hurt. There are some houses here that really have me thinking. One in Kansas was built to a $50,000 budget using a lot of salvaged commercial building pieces such as trusses.
   
   Then at the end of the book, three of the architects who helped select the 50 houses have short essays on residential artechitecture. This is a splendid coffee table book, but beyond that, if you've any thought of building, this is a marvelous book.



2. Celebrating The American Home: 50 Great Houses From 50 American Architects by licensed architect Joanne Kellar Bouknight showcases the architectural plans for fifty homes selected by a panel of distinguished residential architects (John Connell, Duo Dickinson, Jeremiah Eck, Richard Hayes, Kerry Dietz) based on how well these houses reflect core qualities of great residential design. Profusely illustrated with 350 color photos, Celebrating The American Home is an impressively produced and organized contribution to professional, academic, and community library Architectural Studies collections.

2 comments about HVAC Maintenance and Operations Handbook.

1. I am a maintenance mechanic. This book reads like a dry classroom textbook. I specifically was looking for practical solutions for motor lubrication insight, such as how many pumps of grease per inch of motor shaft diameter, etc. Instead I only found the boring lubrication schedules and warnings about over lubricating. Also, we have dirty HVAC Heat Wheels and I wanted to know how to clean them. They are not even mentioned in the book! This book is of little use to me as a hands-on handbook. At a much lower price I would have given it 3 stars, but at this price it deserves only 2 stars.



2. Quickly what is to be said about that book is that it is mainly addressed to people with some experience in the field and not to newcomers. well structured deals in good detail with all aspects of organizing your HVAC systems operation and maintenace. Gives good guidelines for people that are not sure if they want to run the equipment themselfs or outsource the operation. It helped me a lot deciding to outsource the operation of our steam plant. I would generally recommend it as a good reference for the evereday problems that HVAC equipment runs into and for the organization of your maintenace of your equipment. It could though deal in greater depth with the aspects of HVAC equipment design and installation.

No comments about Stadium Design (Design Books).

2 comments about Victorian Dwellings for Village and Country (1885) (Dover Books on Architecture).

1. A delightful book. Each house mentioned is accompanied by a well writtein single paragraph that describes it beutfifully and even adds suggestions on how to build it such as putting the kitchen in the basement which is brilliant for a time before air conditioning. However it only provides two floors of plan rather than a full set. No plans for attic or basement which is a shame. Design XXXV no floor plans at all.
   
   Otherwise great for those interested i archiecture or the history of the victorian period.
   
   A joy.



2. Dover Publications has done an outstanding service in reprinting home plan books of past eras, and S.B. Reed's "Victorian Dwellings for Village and Country" is one of the best. A complete reproduction of the 1885 edition of this book, the Dover reprint is a fascinating and beautiful glimpse into one of home architecture's richest eras.

   The plan of the book is simple and informative. It is a collection of 35 marvelously detailed designs for homes that range from a humble three-room cottage to an imposing boarding house. Each selection contains front and side (and in some cases, rear) elevations, along with floor plans for the first and (for the 2- and 3-story buildings) second stories. Each building is accompanied by a charming descriptive essay and a detailed estimate of the 1885 cost to build it.

   The building plans bear such picturesque names as "Lillie Lake," "Willimantic," "Ravenswood," and "Stepping Stones." Interspersed among the design profiles are a few short essays on such relevant topics as plumbing and building cost estimation.

   The Victorian language of the descriptive essays is a delight. Consider this description of the New Brighton (Design XV): "It has a tasty and picturesque exterior, and is convenient, cosey [sic] and cheerful within." But even more delightful are the floor plans and elevations. Covered verandas, inglenooks, decorative trim, towers and balconies--the full extravagant vocabulary of Victorian architecture is gloriously preserved.

   This book will be treasured by historians, old house restorationists, artists, students of architecture and many more.